Centrifugal casting machine



. L. W. SAINE CENTRIFUGAL CASTING MACHINE Filed Jan. 5. 1929 4Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 27, 1931.

Jan. 27, 1931. L. w. sAlNE CENTRIFUGAL CASTING MACHINE 4` Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Jan. 5, 1929 gtor,

l Faq Ill I f (Ittorneg Jan. 27, 1931.

L. w. sAlNE 1,790,060

CENTRIFUGAL CASTING MACHINE -Filed Jan. 5, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 nvento;,WH

r l Gtforneg Jan. 27, 1931. L. W. sAlNE CENTRLFUGAL CASTINGMACHINE fFiled Jan. 5, 1929 1 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 nventor,

Lonard W45' Gttorncg Patented Jan. 27, 1931 LEQNABD W. SAINE, FBRMINGHAM, ALABAMA CENTRIFUGAL CASTING MACHINE Application led January5, b1929. Serial No. 330,657.

This invention relates to pipe molding machines and particularly to thatclass known as centrifugal molding machines wherein the molten metal iscaused to assume a tubular form within a rapidly-revolving cylindricalmold without the use of a core to form cast iron pipesor other tubularobjects.

The object is to provide a machine of this class having means forfacilitating the introduction of the molten metal into the mold from atiltable ladle of trough-like form, the latter, together with the entiremachine, being preferably mounted in the runway from a cupola andcapable of receiving the metal from the usual transfer car and pouringthe metal into the mold simultaneously throughout its entire lengthprior to the revolving movement of the mold.

Another object is to provide a machine of of counter-balancing means andhaving gag.

ing means to determine the exact amount c of metal received from thetransfer car, thus enabling the dumping of the entire contents of theladle into the mold from end to end to form a pipe of proper thickness.

A final object is to provide mechanicallyoperated means which may bebrought into position to engage with the pipe', after the same has beenexposed by the separation of the mold or flask sections and has becomesufficiently cooled, and of lifting said pipe from the lower moldsection and placing the same upon a continuously moving conveyor tocarryrthesame off for final coolingl or other p i, treatment.

A full and complete understanding ofthe invention may be obtained from aconsideration of the following detailed description,

taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part ofthis specification; it being understood that while the drawings show apractical form of the in vention, the latter is not to be confined to jstrict conformity with the showing thereof,

but may be changed or modified, so long as' such changes ormodifications mark no mate-A rial departure' from the salient featuresof the invention, as specifically pointed out in 6o the appended claims.

In the drawings, in which similar reference characters designatecorresponding parts throughout the several figures:-

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a centrifugal pipe molding machineconstructed in accordance with the invention, the elevated pesition ofthe vupper mold or flask section being indicated in dotted lines;

Figure 2 is an end elevation, the driving gears being omitted.;

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view through the machine; Y

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the same;

Figure 5 is a detail plan View of the lower 75 mold section;

Figure 6 is a similar View of the upper mold section;

Figure 7 is an enlarged transverse section through the complete mold andshowing the cooling jacket and the locking means for holding the twosections together;

Figure 8 is a detail transverse section through the pouring ladle andshowing the counter-balancing means therefor and the means forpermitting the ladle to lower in filling to determine the amount by thegaging means;

Figure 9 is a detail section showing the means employed for determiningthe amount of metal in the pouring ladle;

Figure 10 is a detail horizontal sectional view through the pressurecylinder employed for actuating the arms for lifting the finished pipeor other casting from the mold, after the latter has been opened. p ,l

The preferred embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in thedrawings, comprises a supporting base 1 which is in the form of arectangular casing and adapted to be securely mounted upon and securedto aconcrete or other foundation of sullicie'nt strength. Secured to thebase, adjacent'to each end thereof, is an upstanding support-2 havingsuitable base flanges for bolting-or otherwise n machine which issomewhat',v longer than the yus length of the pipe or other tubularobject desired to be cast. o g l v o. Mounted upon the shafts 5' andadjacent to the bearings 4 are supporting rollers 6 having peripheralflanges at their margins and.

adapted to support and to revolve the centrifugal mold in a` manner tobe explained. The shafts 5 are further supported at the inner sides ofthe rollers 6, by additional bearings 7 which are mounted on the upperlends of posts having suitable connection with the base 1.

Each of the shafts 5 project at corresponding ends beyond the bearings4. and havesecured thereto spur gears 8 of relatively large diameterthough slightly spaced apart as indicated in dotted lines; in Figure 2)and thesegears are each in mesh with a driving pinion 9 mounted on adrive shaft 10 located substantially in line with the upper face of thebase 1 so as to be out of the way of operators.

The centrifugal mold, as indicated generally by the reference numeral1-1, comprises two equal sections 12 and 13. the section 12 beingdesigned to remain in the machine when at a standstill (as in changingthe molds or removing the casting) and the same will hereinafter becalled the lower section, while the section 13 is adapted to be raisedor elevated to permit the above operations and will hereinafter becalled the upper sect-ion or member.

Each of the sections are of semi-circular form and are properly machinedto lit accurately together when in operative position and to be lockedtogether by means to be described. In order to preventl an)7longitudinal movement of the mold while revolving-l the sections areeach provided adjacent to their ends with complementary, semi-circularflanges 14 which form a continuous. circular bearing flange fittingbetween the flanges of the supporting and revolving rollers 6, theweight of the entirel mold and contents being sufficient to cause apositive rotary movement thereof through the medium of the supportingrollers.

Retaining rollers 15 are adapted to be broughtdown into contact with theflanges 14 on the top thereof to hold the revolving mold with acontinuous recess 34 (see Figure 7) or flask tothe supporting rollersand said l rollers 15 are secured to a ngitudinally disposed beam 16extending the entire length of the mold and havin@r suitable hangers orf brackets 17 for mounting the rollers-15 there.- in. The beam-16 is adated to 'be elevated and lowered by means o pinionsflSglocated beyondtheends of the `beam.-and meshingv with upstanding racks19 which aresuitably 4mounted in the upper ends of the upstanding kcontinuous shaft20 and a driving motor 23.is

located upon the beam between the said bear.- ings 22 for simultaneouslyactuating each of the pinions for uniformly raising both ends of thebeam together with the upper mold or flask section 13 in a manner-tubedescribed. ,f

In order that the pinions may. beheld to the racks and that the beamwith its load may be guided in a direct upward path, boxes 24 aremounted at the ends'of the shaft 20and in surrounding relation to theracks `and pinions for the purpose. y When a ipe has been cast and itis-desired to li the upper mold section away from the lower to permitthe finished pipe to beremoved, it is effectedl by lifting links 25which are pivoted at their upper ends, as at 26, to the. beam 16, saidlinks having bifurcated lower ends provided with; alined openings andadapted to straddle apertured lugs 27 formed on the upper section 13 andto receive a removable pin 28 for detachably connecting the uppersection tothe beam. The upper ends ofthe links, 25.,... are providedwith slots 29 where engaging the pins 26 to permit lonigtudinal movementof the links in an upward direction to facilitate the engagement of thedetachable pins 28. In order to move both links simultaneously, anactuating bar 30 is terminally connected to the respective linksadjacent to their lower ends and said bar has an upwardly-inclinedhandle 31 connected to one end thereof the same being properly shaped toextend .forwardly of the beam 16 and being terminally perforated toreceive a removable pin 32 which enters a socket 33 formed in the frontface of said beam. This arrangement permits the bar 30 to be locked inposition to hold the links 25 elevatedat an inclination and out of theway of the re-v volving mold, as clearly shown in the fullline positionof the parts in Figure 1 of the drawings. l The upper mold section 13isvprovided, in the edges where abutting the lower section tained in theenlarged flanges 14, while the lower section is likewise provided with acorresponding bead or rib for fitting into said recess to hold the twosections in erfect alincment when .locked together. ltach of thesections is also provided with a water space 36 formed in the wallsthereof for the purpose if properly cooling the pipe casting during theoperation of revolving the same, within. the mold 37 previously formedin each of the sections and extending outwardly to form pipe flangeswhere passing through the enlargements 14, as indicated at 38 (see Fig.5). Each end portion 38 of the mold, formed in the sections 12 and 13,may have suitable prints 39formed therein to receive a core for formingthe bolt hole in the flange of the finished pipe, in accordance withordinary practice, and the molten metal, when poured in to the mold, isprevented from escaping at the ends, bymeans of end plates 40 providedwith semi-circular openings 41 which, when the sections are together,form complete circles and which also permit lifting arms (to be laterdescribed) to enter the same for removing the casting from the mold.

In order to provide a constant supply of cold water to the waterjackets, pipes 42 connected to both the upper and lower sections aresecured to any suitable form of unions (not shown) which will permit thewater to pass to the revolving sections 12 and 13.

For the purpose of locking the sections 12 and 13 together, during therevolving motion, the upper section 13 is provided with a plurality ofequally spaced lugs 43 having inclined seatsformed in their upperfacesand extending laterally therefrom. The lower section 12 is provided witha corresponding number of movable fingers 44 having their under facesinclined to properly seat in the lugs 43, said fingers being formedintegrally with and in overhanging relation to slidable block 45 havingupper apertures threaded for the reception of screw threaded rods 46 andlower smooth apertures to slide along guide rods 47. The lower guiderod, on each side of the mold or flask, has its endsimounted in plates48 while the upper, threaded rpd at each side has one end mounted forrotation in the corresponding plate 48 and passes through the otherplates, at the opposite end, where they are provided with hand wheels 49for the purpose of turning the threaded rods to cause the fingers 44 toenga-ge over the lugs 43 of the upper section to lock thev two sectionstogether or to become separated to release the upper section forelevating by means before described. During the rotation of the mold orflask 12, 13, the locking means partakes of said movement, there beingsulficient space between the hand wheels 49 and the inner face oftheadjacent upstanding arm 3 for the purpose, and in like manner amplespace -is present in the structure for the arrangement of the Watersupply, as

above described.

In order to supply molten metal ,to the mold, when the said uppersection has been elevated to the position indicated in dotted lines inFigure 1 of the drawing, there has been provided a speciall formed ladle50 which is coextensive with t e mold and adapted to empty its contentsalong the entire length of the mold at any speed desired by theoperator. This-ladle, which is of troughlike form is mounted upon a rockshaft 51 rotatable in upstanding supports 52 secured to the foundationat each end of the base member 1. The rock shaft is adapted to beactuated by handles' 53 secured at each end and held by set screwsagainst the outer faces of the bearings in the supports 52, to preventlongitudinal movement of thelad'le and it will be seen that bv tiltingthe ladle to the position shown in Figure 3 ofthe drawings, the moltenmetal will be caused to pour uniformly into the mold, the end plates 40preventing the metal from escaping at the ends.

It is desirable to weigh the molten metal as it is brought from thecupola (not shown) and placed in the tiltable ladle 50 so that theentire amount which has'bcen thus predetermined may be poured into themold without the necessity for any further care-at the time of pouring.For this purpose the ladle is preferably resiliently mounted on the rockshaft 51 by means of angularly disposed ter- A minal arms 54 formedintegrally with or secured to the ends of the trough orladle, thevertical portions of said arms passing downwardly through boxes 55 whichare rigidly fixed to upstanding supports 56 carried by tle shaft51adjacent to the bearings 52 thereo Secured to the vertical portions ofeach of the terminal arms 54 are collars 57, between which and the lowerwalls of the boxes, are interposed coiled springs 58 of a predeterminedstrength so that proper resistance will be offered to the lowering ofthe trough or ladle at each end when the metal isbeing poured thereinand notification will be given to the operator by means of a bow spring59 having its ends apertured tosurround the arm 54 and to bearrespectively against the lower faceof the collar 57 and an upstandingcollar or enlargement formed on the bottom wall of each box 55. r,l`hebow springs 59 each have a central, integrally formed indicator rod 60extending horizontally therefrom and `projecting through a slot 55aformed in the front face of the box, said finger having suit--l V y vtained in the ladle. By this structure it will be seen that thel troughor ladle may be readi1 tilted when pouring by means of the hand es ateach end and at the same time the ladle 'may be depressed under theWeight of the metal. In order to counterbalance the ladle and maintainthe same in upright position until manuall tilted, weights 61 areprovided at interva s along the length of the ladle. The weights areconnected to the ladle by webs and have elongated, vertical slots 62 forthe passage of the supporting and actuating shaft 51 to permit the saidup and down movement of the ladle relative to the shaft. To insuresuicient metal to fill the enlarged portions 38 of the mold where-theflanges of the pipe to be cast are formed, the ladle is provided at eachend with deepened portions or pockets 50a to hold a greater depth ofmetal for the purpose and a continuous lip 63 is formed at the inneredge of the ladle, the said lip extending over substanti ally to thecenter of the mold, when the ladle is tilted, to properly deposit the.metal therein. After such 'deposit of the molten metal, the uppersection 13 is lowered and locked to the lower section 12 of the mold andthe same revolved, after the ladle has been righted by the automaticaction of the Weights 61 and brought` to a position to receive anothercharge from the transfer car, as shown at 64 in Figure 2 of thedrawings. y

After a pipe has been thus formed the upper mold section is lifted bysuitable control of the motor 23 through the medium of the beam 1'6 andthe links 25, when the exposed pipe 42a is adapted to be mechanicallylifted by novel means from its position within the lower half ofthemold. To this end lifting arms 65 are provided to swing about the are ofa circle and remove the pipe, as stated, said arms having at their freeends inwardly directed trunnions 66 lwhich are moved inwardly towardseach other to enter the ends of the pipe, after the upper mold sectionis elevated. The other ends of the arms 65 are connected to alinedplungers 67 having at their inner opposed ends piston heads 68 locatedwithin a rocking cylinder 69 and which are adapted to be actuatedtowards and away from each other by suitable pressure within thecylinder under proper control (not shown). The plungers 67 arepreferably `square in cross section, where passing through the cylinderheads, so that the arms 65 are causedto rock in accordance with therocking movement of the cylinder by means about to be described. Thepiston cylinder 69 is mounted to rotate in intermediate and end bearings7 0 'secured to upstanding supporting arms 71 suitably mounted on thebase 1 and a gear wheel 72 c arrie'd by the cylinderbetween theintermediate bearings 70, prevents longitudinal movement of the cylinderand, through the medium of a pinion conveyor 75, as clearly illustratedin Figures 2 and 4 of thexdrawino's. While the drawings show a pipe 42aghaving a reinforcing bead 43a near each end, said beads being enlargedat diametrically opposite points to provide for bolt openings 44a, asformed by the aforesaid cores which may rest in the prints 39, it is tobe understood that flanged pipe, plain pipe or even bell and spigot pipelmay be cast in the machine of the present invention by making provisionWithin the mold and it is to be understood that the mold yproper may beformed of dry sand, green sand or carbon or any combination thereofwhich may be found best in the use of the invention.

From the foregoing it will be seen that a strong and durable machine hasbeen provided for casting pipeor other tubular bodies centrifugally,said machine having few operating parts and yet providing for readilyforming such castings rapidly and accurately, the metal being handled ina manner to rapidly charge the mold with the exact amount necessary toproduce a casting of 'the desired thickness and providing for the readyremoval of the upper section of the mold to disclose the formedopipe andfor the quick removal of the pipe from the machine ready for anotheroperation. g

The mold 37 is preferably formed of carbon, but may be of sand, green ordry, or be made of a mixture of carbon and green sand, or carbon and drysand, or a mixture of two or more of the ingredients, carbon, green sandand dry sand.

Having fully described my invention, and set forth its merits, what Iclaim is 1. In a machine for casting tubular members centrifugally; abase having end frames; parallel shafts mounted in the frames torevolve; gearing to drive the shafts in the same direction; flangedsupporting and driving rollers securedto the shafts; a sectional flaskhaving enlarged collars thereonsand adapted to rest on the rollers withthe collars between the flanges of the rollers to revolve the flask andprevent longitudinal movement of the latter; upstanding racks carried bythe end frames; boxes surrounding the racks; a longitudinal shaftmounted in the boxes above the flask; pinions on the shaft and Withinthe boxes; means for turning the shaft to raise and lower the 'same; anda beam hung to and beneath the shaft and having rollers -to bear on thecollars of the flask to hold the .frames s latter on the driving rollerswhen the beam is lowered.

2. In a machine for castin ,tubular members centrifugally; a base havlngend frames; parallel shafts mounted in the frames to revolve; gearing todrive the shafts in the same direction; flanged supporting and drivingrollers secured tothe shafts; a sectional flask having en-larged collarsthereon and adapted to rest on the rollers with the collars between theflanges of the rollers to. revolve the flask andprevent longitudinalmovement of the latter; u standing racks carried b the end Eoxessurrounding the rac s; a longitudinal shaft mounted in the boxes abovethe fiask; pinions on the shaft and within the boxes; means for turninthe shaft to raise and lower the same; a eam hung to and beneath theshaft and having rollers to bear on the collars of the flask to hold thelatter on the driving rollers when the beam is lowered; and linksflexibly huno from the beam and adapted to be engaged with the topsection of the flask to remove the latter and permit the removal of thefinished casting.

3. In a centrifugal casting machine; a cylindrical flask composed of twosubstantially equal longitudinal sections, each section being adapted tohold half of a mold therein for forming a tubular article;`-- aplurality of spaced lugs formed on each side of one of the sectionsadjacent to its meeting edges; a corresponding number of overhangingfingers carried by the other section and mounted in longitudinal guiderods; threaded actuating shafts mounted for rotation in each side ofsaid section and traversing its respective series of fingers to draw thelatter into engagement with the adjacent lugs to lock the two sectionstogether at each side and means for turning said threaded shafts.

4. In a centrifugal casting machine; a cylindrical ask composed of twosubstantially equal longitudinal sections, each section being adapted tohold half of a mold therein for forming a tubular article; one of thesec tions having a continuous longitudinal bead formed on each abuttingedge and the other section having a corres onding groove or recess toreceive the bea of the other section to center and hold the same; andmeans operated at one end of the flask to positively lock the twosections together during the rotation of the flask.

5. In a centrifugal i e casting machine; a rotatable, sectional filasli;means for lifting one section away fromthe other; a tiltable trough-likeladle co-extensive with the flask sections and mounted to rock at oneside of the ask and pour its contents into and along the entire lengthof the remaining lower section thereof; and counterweights carried b theladle to maintain same in upright posltion when not tilted.

6. In a centrifugal pi e casting machine; a rotatable, sectional Has c;means for lifting one section away from the other a tiltable trough-likeladle co-extensive with the flask sections and mounted to rock at oneside of the flask and pour its contents into and along the entire lengthof the remaining lower section thereof; said ladle having terminal armsextending downwardly and having collars thereon; boxes supported by therock shaft of the ladle and apertured in their upper and lower walls toreceive said terminal arms and vertically slotted in their front walls;coiled springs mounted in the boxes around the arms and /below thecollars to cushion and weigh the load in the ladle; and leaf springsdepressible by said collars and having central, graduated rods extendinthrough said slots to indicate the weight o the said load.

In testimony whereof Iaiiix my signature.l

LEONARD W. SAINE.

